Georgia’s First Aloft Names Three Key Executives

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Terry Hitt has been named GM of the new Aloft in Atlanta, expected to open Q1 2014.

ATLANTA—Banyan Investment Group has named three new appointments for Georgia’s first Aloft hotel, located here, and expected to open Q1 2014: Terry Hitt has been named GM; Tonya Graham is the new director of sales & communication; and Bryan Johns is operations manager.

Hitt has more than 15 years of experience as a general manager, most recently at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, a 405-room convention hotel in Norfolk, Virginia. He has also managed the Omaha Marriott, the Richmond Marriott in Virginia, the Sheraton West Palm Beach, the Harrisburg Crowne Plaza in Pennsylvania and the Jacksonville Marriott. He earned his undergraduate degree in business administration at Berry College in Georgia.

Graham joins the Aloft with almost 15 years of hospitality sales experience, including with Mills Marketing Group, Callaway Gardens Resort and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. She is bilingual in Spanish and earned her undergraduate degree in communications at Auburn University.

Johns has most recently managed food and beverage operations at the St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. Previously, he held a similar position at the W Atlanta Midtown. He earned a degree in hospitality administration at the University of Phoenix.

Banyan and DeBartolo Development purchased the hotel in July of 2012. Formerly a Days Inn, the 10-story, 254-room property will undergo more than $25 million in renovations. The Aloft will feature more than 2,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, as well as amenities such as a fitness center, swimming pool and bar with live musical performers.

Currently, Banyan owns and operates a portfolio of 18 hotels located in Georgia and Florida.

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